Dave Jones, the Insurance Commissioner for the state of California, has announced that the California Department of Insurance (CDI) has managed a recovery of over $54 million for consumers through the investigations of complaints in addition to examinations of the market conduct of insurers last year. Commissioner Jones said that the top priority of the CDI is to protect consumers. He went on to say that as a result of “a lot of hard work” by the staff at the Department, they were able to return $54 million to the…
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Improvements to CLCA underline the importance of insurance for California drivers
Officials in California made an announcement last week which explained a regulation change to help drivers to avoid expensive consequences when they are required to drive immediately after taking out a policy, as those who use the Low-Cost Automobile Insurance (CLCA) program will no longer have to endure the two week waiting period in order to receive their proof of policy. Currently, drivers who have just taken out CLCA coverage must either choose not to drive for the first two weeks of coverage, or they risk being caught behind the…
Read MoreConsumer group in California petitions lawmakers to grant more control to state insurance regulators
California consumer advocacy group Consumer Watchdog has submitted a new proposal to the state attorney general’s office regarding health insurance. Last year, the organization was a driving force behind new auto insurance regulations that pout caps on premiums. Now, the group is backing legislation that would require the state’s health insurers to wait for approval from regulators before collecting premiums from higher rates. Consumer Watchdog is awaiting the approval from the state’s attorney general before it begins to collect the 505,000 signatures needed to bring the issue before the state…
Read MoreCalifornia awarded federal grants to make insurance rate review process more efficient
The state of California has been struggling to rein in one rampant rate increases coming from a number of health insurance companies. High rates are spurred by rising costs in health care and the state has been having trouble coping with the sheer number of rate proposals coming in. Short falls in the rate review process can, sometimes, put consumers at unnecessary financial risk. To help the state establish a more efficient review process, the federal government has awarded California with more than $4.3 million in grants. The California Department…
Read MoreLegislation to give California insurance regulators more power is pulled from the Legislature
For the past several months, California legislators have been toiling over a bill that would give the state’s insurance regulators expansive new powers. The bill would have expanded upon regulator’s authority and enabled them to reject or revive insurance rate proposals from the state’s insurance companies. The bill has generated a fair amount of opposition, especially from insurers who are loathe to see regulators wielding more authority. Now the future of the bill is uncertain, as its author, Assemblyman Mike Feuer of Los Angeles, pulls it from consideration. Feuer’s legislation…
Read MoreCalifornia District Attorneys awarded million in grants to fight insurance fraud
California’s Department of Insurance is issuing over $3 million in grants to the state’s District Attorneys in an effort to battle the spread of fraudulent disability and health claims. The state has been wracked with fraud for several years, a fact that Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones has labored to rectify. According to Jones, the grants will be used to fun investigations and prosecutions as the state government looks to crack down on insurance fraud. Jones hopes that the move will also dissuade individuals from committing fraud, knowing that District Attorneys…
Read MoreCalifornia regulators are one step closer to more authority over the state’s insurance industry
California lawmakers have been inching closer to passing new legislation that would give the state’s insurance regulators the authority to reject changes to health insurance premiums. On Wednesday, the proposal passed an important test and earned approval from the Senate Health Committee. Earlier in the year, many Californian health insurers instituted steep rate hikes, much to the chagrin of Dave Jones, the state’s Insurance Commissioner. Jones led the protest against the insurers and petitioned each company to stymie its rate hikes. He has been adamant in the belief that if…
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